Bush Led

Judging from the one-sidedness of the majority opinion, one wonders where the editors have been for the last four years. Space does not permit a complete response, but several points demand further attention.

The majority correctly faults the Bush administration for coddling Saddam Hussein in the years--even days--leading up to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. We congratulate them on their miraculous hindsight. But Bush's error was one of judgement, not of intention. By maintaining friendly ties with Iraq, he had hoped to tame Hussein's aggressiveness. A fatal miscalculation, we agree, but an understandable one given the complicated history of the region.

It's worth pointing out, however, that the President demonstrated tremendous courage in correcting his mistake. Ignoring the advice of this newspaper (and the waffling of Governor Clinton), Bush conducted one of the most successful wars in U.S. history. It's ironic to note that the majority now claims "no amount of economic or diplomatic pressure could work" in Bosnia without an adequate military threat. At least the staff has learned something from the Gulf War.

But the Kuwaitis aren't the only ones grateful for Bush's leadership. So too are the former hostages whose release would not have come without America's decisive action in the Gulf. And we shouldn't forget the Arabs and Israelis who are closer to peace than ever before, albeit still far way.

The majority also fails to credit the President for his remarkable success in negotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, a measure that will dramatically improve the economies of Mexico, Canada and, most importantly, the U.S. Despite opposition from labor unions and environmentalists, Bush has demonstrated commendable vision on this critical foreign policy issue. We only wish that Gov. Bill Clinton would show similar conviction.

Finally a word about the Democrats' "contributions" to the Cold War. The Democrats to which the majority refers were admirable leaders like Truman and Kennedy who appreciated America's moral and strategic imperative to fight Communism. They are a far cry from the modern day liberals who wanted to slash defense spending and ignore Soviet expansionism--the kind of liberals that the majority endorsed in every presidential election since 1972.